Acetylcholine receptors are found on the surface of many cells of the body, including nerve cells. There are two classes of nerve cells—those that make up the peripheral nervous system and those that make up the central nervous system. It is known that nicotine (in the brain) binds to acetylcholine receptors on nerve cells in the central nervous system to cause the release of neurotransmitters.
Various approaches have been taken to reduce an individual's desire to smoke tobacco products. Some of these methods target the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors responsible for transmitting signals to the brain when they react with nicotine. One previous approach to a pharmaceutical composition containing an active ingredient for decreasing an individual's desire to smoke resulted in the development of the drug product manufactured under the CHANTIX brand. CHANTIX, or varenicline, is a prescription medication that stimulates nicotine receptors more weakly than nicotine does. That is, it is a nicotinic receptor partial agonist. As a partial agonist it reduces nicotine-mediated cravings and decreases the pleasurable effects of cigarettes and other tobacco products, both of which may be beneficial to patients seeking to quit smoking. However, like many other commercially available products, CHANTIX does little to diminish the negative side effects associated with smoking cessation.
Thus, there remains a long-felt, yet currently unmet, need in the art to provide a product capable of reducing an individual's desire to smoke that also reduces the withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation. The pharmaceutical composition disclosed herein describes a new use of a previously known and well-characterized active agent that operates to decrease withdrawal symptoms associated with smoking cessation. The pharmaceutical composition described herein also shows remarkable and unexpected efficacy as a pharmaceutical formulation for reducing an individual's desire to smoke.